Len Beadell 2 – Maralinga

Emu proved not a suitable site for the lack of water, its remoteness, and the difficult access to it. So he extended his survey to country to the south, closer to the transcontinental railway. The country is marked by and sheer endless number of sand dunes some as much as 20 metres high, with mulga, […]

Len Beadell and the atomic tests at Emu

Among 4WD enthusiasts Len Beadell is known as the ‘last true explorer’. A memorial at Woomera cemetery commemorates him as “explorer surveyor roadmaker” who “opened up the outback to all people”. The Anne Beadell Highway, which runs East to West from Marble Station, 50 km east of Cooper Pedy, to Laverton in Western Australia, was […]

The long legacy of the Woomera Rocket Range

On 15 and 27 October 1953 the British conducted the first land-based atomic tests in Australia, at Emu also known as Emu Field or Emu Junction, a large clay pan, 300 km east of Cooper Pedy. The name stems from a footprint that was spotted in the dried out surface when British top brass arrived […]

Project update and a new Prime Minister

Curator JD Mittmann has returned from another visit to Yalata to meet with community elders and managers to present an overview of the planned exhibition and its touring itinerary. In the meantime PM Tony Abbott was ousted and Malcom Turnbull has become Australia’s new prime minister. A new cabinet was sworn in on Monday. As […]

Visions of Australia program transferred to the Ministry for the Arts

The exhibition project has been transferred to the Ministry of the Arts. It was announced in the 2015-16 Budget that administration of the Visions of Australia program has been transferred from the Australia Council for the Arts to the Ministry for the Arts.

Hiroshima Day and Nuclear Futures Seminar

August 6 is known as Hiroshima Day, and this year it marked the 70th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. Quite a number of media reports covered the event and its aftermath, including ABC Hobart, which presented a moving interview with author and Hiroshima survivor Junko Morimoto who has been living in Australia since […]

Ten Minutes to Midnight Showcase launched

Opening of Ten Minutes to Midnight, a multi-arts showcase presented by Alphaville and the Nuclear Futures Project at The Block, QUT Creative Precinct, in Brisbane. Nuclear Futures is a three-year international collaborative arts and cultural programs assisted by the Australian Government through Australia Council of the Arts.

Yalata CEO concerned about Government plans to cut remote community services

Greg Franks, the chief executive of Yalata Community Incorporated – part of a community of 300 people 800km west of Adelaide – said the organisation has voiced concerns about Federal government plans to cut support for services in remote communities. Greg Franks told The Guardian: “The community has grown a lot over past few years, […]

Maralinga room at Ceduna Museum

National Trust Ceduna Museum holds an astounding collection of all sorts of objects, from gramophones to farming equipment. The array of displays, sheds and buildings is a treasure trove and time capsule of life in the region from early 20th century to the mid-1970s.

Visiting Maralinga former atomic test site

The prospect of visiting a former atomic test site causes a feeling of unease. Would it be safe? Could remaining radiation or radioactive dust particles harm? What to expect, what to see? While the site had been declared safe for temporary visits around 2000 signs erected every 50 metres around the 300 km area remind […]